


Mrs. Sniffles

by terfina



Series: Neymessi Ficlets [2]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Leo has a cat and said cat messes up his life except when she doesn't, M/M, Making Out, also the cats aren't the main focus, also y r all the neymessi fics so dark, the cat is also a lesbian, what do you mean cats can't be lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:29:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terfina/pseuds/terfina
Summary: Leo really hated his cat. If it weren't for the fact that he loved Mrs. Sniffles, Leo would have given her to his forty something year old cousin years ago.Mrs. Sniffles had a tendency to wander out of Leo’s apartment that could lead to very, very bad consequences. Take for example the time she was chased up a tree by a stray dog and Leo had to wait for the fire department like an old lady in a cliche superhero flick. Or, as of right now, when she snuck out and hadn't returned for six days.





	

Leo really hated his cat. If it weren't for the fact that he loved Mrs. Sniffles, Leo would have given her to his forty something year old cousin years ago.

Mrs. Sniffles had a tendency to wander out of Leo’s apartment that could lead to very, very bad consequences. Take for example the time she was chased up a tree by a stray dog and Leo had to wait for the fire department like an old lady in a cliche superhero flick. Or, as of right now, when she snuck out and hadn't returned for six days.

Leo didn't notice pay much attention the first day. Mrs. Sniffles often had a night on the town when she felt like treating herself. However, she always returned at the crack of dawn, scratching and meowing at Leo’s door, often with a rodent at her feet. By the third day, Leo had grown so worried that he put up lost pet posters all around his district of Barcelona (“LOST: White cat with orange spot on forehead. REWARD: €50. If found please contact 420-1010). Unfortunately, nothing has turned up.

Leo was inconsolable. Ever since Mrs. Sniffles was a kitten and he a fresh college graduate, he had taken care of her. He worked night and day to provide the best luxury toys for her and to lose her was to lose his younger sister.

 

* * *

 

 

To distract from the pain of separation, Leo worked longer hours at his bookstore. One day, a customer bought a copy of “Curious, Cuddly Cats” and Leo teared up. After the long day filled with hard work, he'd trudge home to his apartment.

On the seventh day, just after the sun had set, he heard a yelp coming from his neighbor. He paid no attention to it. His neighbor was strange and full of energy. Although Leo had never seen him, he knew that his neighbor threw loud parties and was named ‘Neymar.’

A few moments after the yelp, he heard a crash. Leo furrowed his brow but resumed chopping up his vegetables for dinner. It wasn't until he heard a loud curse (“Hijo de puta!”) that he considered checking up on his neighbor. Leo wiped his hands on a towel and made his way to the adjacent apartment.

No one answered Leo’s knock for a full minute but just as he turned to leave, the door swung open. Standing in the threshold was the most beautiful person Leo had ever seen and also the most bedraggled. Hazel eyes stared at him frantically as his clothes were torn in places.

“Hello.” The person (Neymar?) had a soft voice, like an angel’s.

“Oh, um, hi. I was just checking if you were fine, I heard some noises,” Leo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

The stranger smiled. “Yeah, yeah of course. I just found this new cat and she's not used to living in an apartment, I guess.” As if on cue, a cat rushed through Neymar's legs.

Leo recognized the long, silky fur and green eyes. “Mrs. Sniffles!”

The cat turned and bounded into Leo's open arms. He scooped her up and turned to look at the cat thief, ready to defend his feline to his last breath.

“What the fuck? Mrs. Sniffles?” Neymar looked like he could barely believe what was happening before his eyes.

“Where did you find her?”

“I came home last week and she was sitting in my living room. She tried to mate with my cat, Princesa!”

Leo looked down into his arms where Mrs. Sniffles was cradled, purring, then back to Neymar. “Why did I hear crashes?”

“Because she was knocking down my favorite coffee cups and tearing up my clothes!” Neymar waved his arms around, the shirt sleeves tattered.

Leo sighed. “Look, I'm really sorry about all of this. I'll pay however much you have damaged.”

Neymar hesitated and shook his head. “No, no, you don't have to but um...I was about to get dinner and you'd be welcome to join.” Even though it wasn't a question, Neymar's voice went up as if he was unsure of himself.

Leo processed this. Was his cute neighbor asking him out on a date or was he just making a peace offering? Could it really get worse after Leo's cat scratched up Neymar's wardrobe? “Sure, let me just change and feed Mrs. Sniffles.”

 

* * *

 

 

After giving Mrs. Sniffles a stern lecture and feeding her, he made his way to Neymar's door. Leo stood for a moment, mustering the strength to knock. He raised briskly tapped four times and waited.

Neymar opened the door much quicker this time, wearing an intact leather jacket, a dark sweater, and a grin. “Shall we?”

They took Neymar's car, a beautiful, dark, fast machine. He drove calm and confident, easily backing out of the parking spot.

“Where are we going?” Truthfully, Leo didn't mind, just as long as he was with Neymar.

Neymar's eyes turned to his, the green standing out more in the artificial light, “Do you know the Italian place down this street?”

Leo nodded. He'd been there a few times with his friends and sometimes ordered out.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Neymar put on a song with a steady beat and a low voice humming about lost love. As they walked to the restaurant, Neymar's had brushed slowly over Leo's. It was barely there, like mist in the night, but it was deliberate.

The warm air of the restaurant breathed life back into Leo. Barcelona wasn't as cold as other cities but the frigid sea breeze wasn't exactly warm either. There weren't many people there, mainly couples. An attendant showed them to their table in a quiet corner.

“This is nice,” Leo said. As he scanned the menu, he could hear a soft instrumental and the murmured hush of other people talking. Looking up, Leo’s eyes met Neymar's, the brown doing something with Leo's heart.

“I'm glad you like it.” His voice was much more deep. Leo liked how varied it could be, like chocolate. “I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you name your cat Mrs. Sniffles?” Leo choked on the wine he was drinking and a smirk quickly appeared on Neymar's face.

“Um, alright.” A laugh. “When I got her, she was really small and sick. She always made these sneezing noises so I named her Sniffles. After a while, she liked really feminine stuff like my flowers and playing with my clothes so I added a Mrs. to it.”

Neymar nodded, smiling and his voice filled with faux offense. “So you just follow gender rules like that? Wow, didn't know you were like that.”

Leo laughed, “If I followed gender rules I wouldn't be gay.”

He didn't know what he expected Neymar to say to that. If Neymar was hitting on him, he would know Leo was attainable. But, if Neymar just wanted to be friends, he would probably just laugh.

Neymar’s eyes inspected him carefully before he opened his mouth. “Same.”

* * *

 

The rest of the night flew by. They talked, laughed, and flirted. It was like a game to see who would make the first move. After they had finished eating, Neymar suggested going home.

They didn't say much on the ride home. Somewhere along the way, Neymar's hand found Leo’s and covered it. When the car stopped a short walk away from their apartment complex, Neymar's hand stayed in its spot.

“I had a really nice time tonight,” his chocolate sweet voice murmured.

Leo glanced up at him and saw a face filled with want. He leaned in closer, to the point where their lips were barely inches apart. “So did I.”

Neymar closed the distance, brushing the pads of his fingers under Leo's cheek as their lips met. His passion was obvious, from how softly but precisely his tongue explored Leo's mouth. Leo closed his eyes to savor the feeling but it was over all too soon still.

Neymar was opening the door of his car, “Do you want to go back to your apartment?”

Leo nodded, his brain too fried from that simple kiss to form coherent words. He followed Neymar to the lobby, the elevator, the door of Leo's apartment.

Leo fumbled for his keys and distractedly opened the door. He was acutely aware of Neymar's hands brushing against his hip bones and one of his legs slightly prying between Leo's own two. Leo didn’t bother to flip on the lights, rather to pin Neymar as soon as he entered.

Neymar's lips against his own felt amazing, like a clashing of flavors on his tongue. Leo felt a sharp pull on his knee and leaned into Neymar's body. The pull got sharper and Leo pulled away from Neymar to look down.

Staring up at him were emerald green eyes. “ _Meow_.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading :) comments and kudos are deeply appreciated. you can follow me on Tumblr @bicyclekicking


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